In June 2017, MCTM provided a Number Talks presentation at the 2017 MBI Institute in Bozeman. It was co-presented by Becky Berg and Leanne Yenny. This was the largest institute yet, with 1400 people in attendance. The Number Talks Session was a 3 hour presentation that included 90 participants from across the state.
Before we go any further, you might be asking yourself, “What exactly is A Number Talk routine anyways?” A Number Talk is short (5-15 minutes), ongoing daily routine that provides students with meaningful practice with mental computation:
During this presentation, Montana educators were introduced to the theory, structure and focus of Number Talks. They learned how Number Talks can be a valuable classroom routine in which students are making sense of mathematics, developing efficient computation strategies, and communicating their reasoning and solutions. Participants engaged in Number Talks and understood the importance of the key components as well as how to use Number Talks to build classroom community. Leanne and Becky also discussed how sharing this routine is valuable to parents as well.
Participants were highly engaged throughout this 3 hour session. Participants not only solved problems mentally (ex. 70 - 34), but then watched video clips to see how students engaged in these same problems. These classroom video examples were very helpful for them to see what this routine looks like with students.
Leanne & Becky were pleased to see the engagement and hear their reflective comments on this routine. When given opportunities to share and discuss strategies, they were pleasant surprised what great risk-takers there were in this large group of 90 people! Strategies based on place value, properties, and the relationship were utilized, along with introductory experiences with an open number line.
Becky & Leanne want to say “thanks” to MBI and MCTM for allowing them to share this powerful routine with educators!
